Removing Fluoride from the Body Naturally

‍ Why should you reduce fluoride in the body?

Dentists will tell you that fluoride helps reduce cavities, which it does to some extent in children but less so in adults, but many people know now that it can cause various health problems, including:

• Increasing cancer risk: tumours in the colorectal system, liver and gallbladder, urinogenital system, mouth and throat, brain, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, melanoma, multiple myeloma, osteosarcoma and monocytic leukaemia were all increased (1, 2).

• Damage to the brain and nervous system (3).

• Potential risk of increased bone fractures (4).

• Reducing thyroid hormones (5, 6).

• Affecting sexual development, reducing the age of puberty in girls and increasing it in boys (7). Whilst late puberty in boys reduces their risk of aggressive prostate cancer (8), early puberty in girls increases breast cancer risk (9).

• Causing diabetes (10), which can increase the risk of several cancers (10).

If you’ve been using fluoride toothpaste, mouthwash and drinking fluoridated water, it might be wise to lower your fluoride levels to avoid any of these issues.

‍What are the best ways to remove fluoride?

It is impossible, and probably unwise, to avoid fluoride completely because it’s present in many foods that we consider healthy. But there are ways to detox from fluoride slowly, particularly if you have been exposed to high levels of it. It takes time, though.

Selenium

In animal studies, selenium increased the amount of fluoride in the urine and reduced the levels in the bones, kidneys, liver and blood (11).

Selenium is a powerful antioxidant with many health benefits, including to help reduce the risk of some cancers and their metastasis (12) and reducing the side effects of chemo and radiation therapy (13).

The best selenium product to use is selenomethionine, which is more bioavailable than sodium selenite. The dosage used in studies was 200 micrograms a day.

Alkaline/acid balancing diet

Exposure to fluoride causes the body to become more acidic (14). So, following a diet that balances acid and alkali in the body helps to reduce the damage that fluoride can cause. This involves eating more vegetables and fruit and reducing the amount of animal protein in the diet.

An index known as the Potential Renal Acid Load (PRAL) measures the acidifying effects of animal protein. If you want to be sure that your diet is pH balanced, you can access a spreadsheet showing the PRAL of many common foods under the heading ‘Alkalising foods’ on this page.

Tamarind

Tamarind paste is a food made from the coating of seeds from the tamarind tree. It’s commonly used in South East Asian, Mexican, and Indian cooking to give a slightly sour taste. But researchers have shown that it can help animals to reduce the effects of fluoride toxicity (15).

Use it in your curries, sambals, Nasi Goreng, Pad Thai, Indian pickles, and add it to marinades to give a tangy flavour.

Iodine

The reason that fluoride can damage the thyroid is that it can replace iodine in the making of thyroid hormones. If you eat plenty of iodine rich foods, it is less likely to do that.

So, add wild caught seafood (including canned fish and shellfish), kelp, nori, pastured eggs and iodised salt to your diet.

Reducing exposure to fluoride

Fluoride is difficult for the body to detoxify. The process is fairly slow. So, the most effective way to help speed it up is to reduce exposure to it.

Use fluoride-free toothpaste

It’s easy to find fluoride-free toothpaste these days. If you’re concerned about adverse effects on your tooth enamel, find one with hydroxyapatite in it. It rebuilds enamel, reduces sensitivity, and it’s safe if swallowed, making it a good option for children.

If you want to do more to protect your teeth, use sugar-free gum with xylitol if you can tolerate it. Xylitol gum reduces the acid in your mouth, which helps to reduce cavities. Be warned: if you’re sensitive, it can cause digestive upsets.

Staying away from sweet foods also helps, as that increases the acid.

And, of course, find a mouthwash without fluoride.

Buy a good quality water filter that removes fluoride

Naturally, you’ll want to remove any fluoride that’s in your water. However, not all water filters are effective or even safe. Those carbon filters you find everywhere will remove solids from water, but aren’t any use in removing fluoride or heavy metals.

Some people think that reverse osmosis systems are the gold standard. They remove about 95% of fluoride in water. But they waste a lot of water and strip out all minerals, including calcium and magnesium, which are both important for the body. They’re also very expensive to install.

Activated alumina, whilst effective, introduces aluminium, which is about as toxic as fluoride.

The best filters are activated calcium carbonate. It’s a simple, cost-effective system that removes about 99% of fluoride without removing helpful minerals (16). The one I use and love is from Waters Co, and you can find out about it here. (This is an affiliate link, which helps to subsidise this website.)

Eat organic fruit and vegetables

By eating organic, you aren’t consuming pesticides, many of which are based on fluoride. If buying organic produce is not in your budget, at least remove the pesticide residue.

You can do this by soaking them in water with sodium bicarbonate added, using 1 teaspoon for each litre (4 cups) of water for 10 minutes, then rinsing with clean water. Alternatively, there are special washes for produce.

Personally, I use a device called Aquapure to both remove pesticides and sterilise your produce, which is useful if you use water that could carry microorganisms. It works by electrolysis, which is extremely effective. I am always amazed at the colour of the water after I’ve washed my produce, and you can see the pesticides floating on the top of the water when you use it. Just add a teaspoon of salt for each litre of tap water you use, turn on the unit and let it work its magic. Then give the produce a quick rinse. Find out more here. (This is also an affiliate link.)

Avoid buying food from countries with high fluoride in their soil

Avoid buying foods grown in

• The East African Rift Valley, particularly Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania

• India

• China

These areas have very high fluoride levels in their soil, which are absorbed by the plants, and it’s impossible to remove it.

India and China are the sources of most tea, and the East African Rift Valley grows a lot of coffee, particularly robusta coffee.

If you drink a lot of tea, either buy fluoride-free black tea, if it’s available, or look for white tea, which is made from young leaves that haven’t absorbed as much. White tea has as much and sometimes more EGCG, a powerful anticancer antioxidant, as green tea. Japanese green tea, such as Sencha, is another alternative if you want to drink green tea, as it’s also made from young leaves.

If you’re a coffee drinker, go for the Arabica coffees. They have a richer flavour too.

Conclusion

Although detoxifying from fluoride is a slow process, if you combine it with reducing your ongoing intake, you can speed up the process. Given that it has so many toxic effects if you have high levels, the process is definitely worthwhile.

Of course, there are many other antioxidants that can help to keep you healthy. If you’d like to receive a monthly article in your Inbox, you can subscribe to my newsletter for Cancer Prevention by clicking here. As a thank you, I’ll send you a FREE collection of 30 delicious recipes for cancer patients.

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References

1. Takahashi K, Akiniwa K, Narita K. Regression analysis of cancer incidence rates and water fluoride in the U.S.A. based on IACR/IARC(WHO) data(1978-1992). Journal of Epidemiology. 2001;11(4):170-179. doi:10.2188/jea.11.170

2. Lee JR. Fluoridation and Bone Cancer. Fluoride Archives 1968-1998. 1993. Accessed April 15, 2026. https://www.fluorideresearch.org/262/files/FJ1993_v26_n2_p079-164.pdf.

3. Mullenix PJ, Denbesten PK, Schunior A, Kernan WJ. Neurotoxicity of sodium fluoride in rats. Neurotoxicology and Teratology. 1995;17(2):169-177. doi:10.1016/0892-0362(94)00070-t 1.

4. Rodriguez-Dozal S, Trejo-Vazquez RT-V, Martin-Domlnguez IR, Alarcon-Herrera MT. WELLWATER FLUORIDE, DENTAL FLUOROSIS, AND BONE FRACTURES IN THE GUADIANA VALLEY OF MEXIC. Fluoride Research. 2001. Accessed April 15, 2026. https://www.fluorideresearch.org/342/files/FJ2001_v34_n2_p139-149fig.pdf.

5. Chaitanya NCS, Karunakar P, Allam NSJ, Priya MH, Alekhya B, Nauseen S. A systematic analysis on possibility of water fluoridation causing hypothyroidism. Indian Journal of Dental Research. 2018;29(3):358-363. doi:10.4103/ijdr.ijdr_505_16

6. Malin AJ, Riddell J, McCague H, Till C. Fluoride exposure and thyroid function among adults living in Canada: Effect modification by iodine status. Environment International. 2018;121(1):667-674. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2018.09.026

7. Liu Y, Téllez-Rojo M, Hu H, et al. Fluoride exposure and pubertal development in children living in Mexico City. Environmental Health. 2019;18(1):26. doi:10.1186/s12940-019-0465-7

8. Célind J, Bygdell M, Martikainen J, et al. Timing of the pubertal growth spurt and prostate cancer. Cancers. December 12, 2021. Accessed April 21, 2026. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8699412/.

9. Voon F-L, Sim EU-H. Early menarche and breast cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 74 case–control studies. Cancer Causes & Control. 2026;37(2):32. doi:10.1007/s10552-025-02096-y

10. Pain, Geoff. (2015). Fluoride Causes Diabetes.

11. Bian J, Ye P, Xian S, Ji Q. Accumulation and excretion of fluorine and effect of selenium on them in rats with chronic fluorosis. Journal of hygiene research. 1997;26 4: 233-8.

12. Breastcancer.org. Selenium. Breastcancer.org - Breast Cancer Information and Support. July 27, 2022. Accessed April 21, 2026. https://www.breastcancer.org/managing-life/diet-nutrition/dietary-supplements/known/selenium.

13. Krannich F, Mücke R, Büntzel J, et al. A systematic review of selenium as a complementary treatment in cancer patients. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2024;86:103095. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2024.103095

14. Johnston NR, Strobel SA. Principles of fluoride toxicity and the cellular response: A Review. Archives of Toxicology. 2020;94(4):1051-1069. doi:10.1007/s00204-020-02687-5

15. Ameeramja J, Panneerselvam L, Govindarajan V, Jeyachandran S, Baskaralingam V, Perumal E. Tamarind seed coat ameliorates fluoride induced cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in A549 cells. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2016;301:554-565. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2015.09.037

16. Wong EY, Stenstrom MK. Onsite defluoridation system for drinking water treatment using calcium carbonate. Journal of Environmental Management. 2018;216:270-274. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.06.060